America’s enemies and rivals are behaving as if the Trump administration is a wounded animal. North Korea is preparing another provocative missile test, China is poaching traditional US allies in Asia, and Russia has kicked 755 diplomats and their assistants out of the American embassy in Moscow. Even the embattled Venezuelan dictator has found time to mock the United States. Power, it seems, is ebbing away from the White House.
This is clearly not a desirable outcome. A superpower, six months after a presidential election, should be projecting its leverage abroad. Instead, the chaotic management of the White House is squandering the political capital of President Trump. Republicans are in control of both houses of Congress and there is no shortage of shrewd advice on foreign policy, not least from Henry Kissinger. Yet Mr Trump’s Washington fails to radiate confidence to the world.
The appointment of John Kelly as the White House chief of staff may well help to stabilise a leaking ship. It is a sign that the president has recognised the damage being done by the public infighting among his staff. To restore discipline he has called in the Marines. Mr Kelly takes his place alongside James Mattis, another former Marine general, at the Pentagon and HR McMaster, the general who heads the national security council. Together they should form an axis of authority, one that will oblige the world to take America seriously.
Since North Korea poses the most immediate challenge, it is here that a coherent, integrated strategy has to be quickly devised. Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, signalled yesterday to Kim Jong-un that the US did not consider North Korea an enemy, nor was it seeking regime change. At the same time, the president has indicated that he is ready to deploy all options, including military, should Pyongyang continue to seek intercontinental nuclear missiles. This was not inconsistent, nor a clash of views. Pressing concessions in any future talks with the Kim regime will stand a chance only if America shows a readiness to use force as a last resort.
That kind of clarity now has to permeate America’s dealings with the world. For too long supporters of Mr Trump have hailed the merits of unpredictability. Yet after six months it is plain that uncertainty merely encourages enemies to take advantage and erodes the confidence of allies. To some extent it is born out of the indecision of the American people themselves. A Pew Research Center poll found that 70 per cent of voters wanted the next president to focus on domestic rather than foreign affairs. Confusingly, most Democrats and Republicans wanted policies that kept the United States as “the only military superpower”. In short, they required the administration to retain global strength while withdrawing from global responsibilities.
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The president has failed to resolve these contradictory positions. If anything he has aggravated them by his unfiltered and reckless use of Twitter. Moreover, the muddled controversy over Russian meddling in the election last year and the contacts between Trump aides and Russian officials has made it politically impossible to shift policy with Moscow. The administration has tied itself in knots over Vladimir Putin, a position that the Kremlin leader will seek to exploit.
The Middle East is looking more perilous than at any time in many decades, with the US apparently unable to end the fierce feud between its two Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Iran is making hay in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, undeterred by Washington. And China’s influence is growing, unchecked. Bit by bit, the world’s great superpower is being diminished. It started under Barack Obama. Now it is for Mr Trump to show how it must stop.